Festive magic fueled by nostalgia has been credited for the “astonishing” sale of a Christmas tree, “bought for pennies” more than a century ago, for £3,411 (US$4,328) at auction last week.

The 31-inch tree, complete with 25 branches, 12 berries and six mini candle holders, was estimated to sell for only £60-80 at auction house Hansons Auctioneers in the southeastern English county of Oxfordshire. A global bidding battle meant the final result far exceeded this.

“The magic of Christmas lives on! The humblest Christmas tree in the world has a new home and we’re delighted for both buyer and seller,” said Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers.

The Christmas tree arrived at the home of Dorothy Grant in Leicestershire in England’s East Midlands in 1920, when she was 8 years old, and she was “wildly excited,” the auction house said in the release. She decorated it with cotton wool to mimic snow, since baubles were lavish after World War I.

Dorothy treasured the tree until her passing at the age of 101 in 2014, following which her 84-year-old daughter, Shirley Hall, inherited it.

“It would have been bought for pennies originally but it’s sold for thousands and that’s astonishing. I think it’s down to the power of nostalgia. Dorothy’s story resonated with people,” said Hanson.

“As simple as it was, Dorothy loved that tree. It became a staple part of family celebrations for decades. The fact that it brought her such joy is humbling in itself. It reminds us that extravagance and excess are not required to capture the spirit of Christmas,” he added.

Hanson suggested in the release that the tree could have been produced for an expensive London department store. Even though it resembles the first mass-produced artificial trees sold by popular department store Woolworths, he said it differs from trees sold there previously due to the red paint decoration on its wooden base.

“The seller decided to part with it to honor her mother’s memory and to ensure it survives as a humble reminder of 1920s life — a boom-to-bust decade,” he added.

A similar Christmas tree, purchased in Scotland for the equivalent of 6 pence (8 cents) in 1937, sold for £150 at Hansons Auctioneers in 2019, according to Hanson. Another, found in the English city of Derby, sold for £420 in 2017.

“But Dorothy’s tree has truly excelled,” he said.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【惊人的】Jīngrén de astonishing causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder

【奢侈】shēchǐ extravagance lack of restraint in spending money or use of resources

大概是节日氛围和人们的怀旧情绪施了魔法，一棵一个多世纪前“用几分钱买来”的圣诞树在上周的拍卖会上以 3411 英镑（4328 美元）的惊人价格地售出。

这棵31英寸高的圣诞树上有25根树枝、12颗浆果和6个迷你烛台，在英国东南部牛津郡的汉森拍卖行，这棵圣诞树的估价仅为 60-80 英镑。然而一场全球竞拍让最终结果远远超出了估价。

“圣诞节的魔力仍在继续！世界上最不起眼的圣诞树有了新家，我们为买家和卖家都感到高兴，”汉森拍卖行的老板查尔斯•汉森说。

拍卖行在一份新闻稿中说，这棵圣诞树1920年运抵英格兰东米德兰兹郡莱斯特郡一个名叫多萝西•格兰特的8岁女孩家中，她 “异常兴奋”，用棉絮装饰了这棵树，模仿雪的样子，因为一战后用于装饰圣诞树的闪亮小球是难得一见的奢侈品。

多萝西一直珍藏着这棵树，直到 2014年她于101岁去世，之后她84岁的女儿雪莉•霍尔继承了这棵树。

汉森说：“这棵树原本只值几分钱，但现在却卖到了数千美元，这太令人吃惊了。这大概是怀旧的魔力，多萝西的故事引起了人们的共鸣。”

他补充说：“尽管这棵树很朴素，但多萝西真心喜欢它。数十年来，它一直陪伴这个家庭的节日庆祝活动。这棵卑微的树给她带来了如此多的欢乐，提醒我们，圣诞节的精神并不在于奢华和纵情享乐。”

汉森在新闻稿中表示，这棵圣诞树可能原本是为伦敦一家奢侈的百货公司制作的。他说，尽管这棵树与著名百货公司伍尔沃斯出售的第一批大规模生产的人造圣诞树很相似，但它和之前出售的圣诞树又有所不同，因为它的木质底座漆成了红色。

他补充说：“卖家决定出售这棵树以纪念她的母亲，让这棵树去到珍惜它的陌生人身边 —— 作为 20世纪20年代由盛转衰那十年谦卑的纪念品。”

汉森称，有人1937年在苏格兰以相当于6便士（8 美分）的价格购得一棵类似的圣诞树，2019 年在汉森拍卖行以150英镑的价格拍出。另一棵是在英国德比市发现的，2017年的售价为420 英镑。

“但多萝西的这棵圣诞树简直卖出了天价，”他说。(Translated by Debra)